Grace
by SVUfan18
Summary: Elliot and Olivia find a 3 year old in the house of a known child abuser when they raid it.
1. Chapter 1

Olivia rolled over and looked at the clock.

2:14..  
2:15..  
2:16..  
2:17..

Another restless night. She couldn't close her eyes without seeing little Grace, their last victim. Her beautiful blue eyes and snarled red hair, her beaten and bruised body cowering in the closet they had found her in. She could still smell the urine, feces and vomit almost as strong as she smelled it when Elliot first opened the closet door.

Olivia sniffed her nose and wiped away a stray tear rolling down her cheek. She jumped a little as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Liv, honey, what's wrong?"

She had disturbed Elliot. She was instantly upset with herself. Grace's case had taken a toll on him as well and she knew he needed his sleep.

"Nothing," Olivia whispered, "go back to sleep."

"You thinkin' about Gracie?" Elliot asked, rolling Olivia over to face him.

Olivia was silent as a rush of tears flooded her face. Elliot pulled his wife close to him and wrapped her in his strong embrace. He planted a kiss on top of her head as she began sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's ok sweetheart," Elliot stroked the back of her head. "Let it out. It's ok."

Elliot fought back his own tears as images of the little girl flooded his head. Neither of them had slept much the past two nights and both were emotionally drained. They had seen a lot over the 12 years they had worked in the Special Victims Unit but this was one of those cases that would get to even the most seasoned detectives.

**

* * *

**

**48 Hours Prior**

"POLICE! OPEN UP!" the SWAT team shouted, moments before the door was rammed. Within seconds cops were swarming all over the house of a know child abuser. Elliot and Olivia were clearing one of the bedrooms. Elliot pulled the closet door open and stuck his gun in. "Clear," he said, then he saw her, cowering in the corner of the tiny closet, hugging her legs to her chest as tightly as she could, her body covered with cuts and bruises in all stages of healing, her head buried in her lap as she tried to hide. Human waste covered the floor and walls of her small prison. She couldn't have been more than 3 years old.

Elliot took his jacket off and wrapped the small girl's naked body in it as he picked her up. "It's ok Sweetie," Elliot reassured her. "I'm a policeman," Elliot gave her his badge, "I'm gonna help you." Her big blue eyes pierced his as she was violently shaking with sheer terror in Elliot's arms. Elliot rocked her gently, trying to calm her down.

Olivia came over and tried to talk to the girl. Elliot really admired her way with victims, people really seemed to trust her, she always knew what to say. Elliot knew how difficult it was to gain the trust of someone who had been physically and emotionally abused. The girl stared at Olivia but remained speechless. Olivia reached her arms in front of her thinking the child might be more comfortable with a female, mother-type figure. Elliot started to give the girl to Olivia, thinking the same thing but the girl wrapped her small hand firmly around Elliot's forefinger and started to whimper. "Ok," Elliot reassured her, pulling her back into his chest.

"What's your name?" Elliot's voice was soft, "My name is Elliot."

The girl stared at Elliot, silent.

"Can you tell me your name Sweetie?"

The girl whispered something inaudible.

"What honey?" Elliot whispered back at her, putting his ear closer to the girl.

"Grace," the small child whispered in his ear.

"Hi Grace," Elliot smiled at her, starting to rock her again. "You're safe now."

After the house was cleared, making sure there was no danger, the EMTs were called in. The medic reached out to take the young girl causing her to flinch and bury her body further into Elliot's.

"It's ok Grace, he's here to help you too. Nobody's ever going to hurt you again." Elliot promised as he tried to hand the girl off to the medic. Grace let out an ear piercing scream as she reached out and grabbed Elliot's breast pocket with a death grip. Elliot pulled her back into his safe embrace. Usually Olivia rode along in the ambulance but they agreed Elliot would go this time since Grace seemed to have bonded with him. They didn't want to stress her out anymore than she already was.

"I'll meet you down there," Olivia called as Elliot climbed into the back of the ambulance, Grace still in his arms.

Elliot was the father of five children, and the cases that brought him across the path of these young victims always ripped his heart out. Violence against children and women were two things Elliot Stabler would not stand for.

Olivia stood at the door of Grace's room in the ER. Grace was sitting next to Elliot on the hospital bed. She watched as Elliot let the doctor listen to his heart, trying to show Grace it was ok. She was absolutely crazy him. He was so good with kids. She would have been content standing in the door watching Elliot and Grace all day long but they really did have to get back to work.

"El," Olivia smiled at them.

"Hi Detective Benson," Elliot said in the voice he used to talk to children. "Gracie, this is Olivia, she's my partner."

"Hi Grace," Olivia said, squatting down to her eye level.

Grace smiled shyly at Olivia before burying her face into Elliot's side giggling.

"El, the doctors need to... you know," Olivia said, nodding her head.

"I know," Elliot replied, the smile leaving his face. He thought about how unfair it was that this innocent child had to endure a rape kit. "I'm just wanna wait with her till she falls asleep." It was standard procedure to put kids to sleep in order to lessen the trauma of having to endure a rape kit. Olivia nodded her head and sat down in the chair next to the bed as the nurse entered. Elliot promised Grace they would return later after they caught the bad guy then he held her small hand in his until she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"El, I know it's kind of against protocol, but.. well, do you think we could go see Grace?" Olivia stuttered over her words.

Elliot had been thinking about visiting Grace too, he remembered her holding onto his finger, her small body curled into his. He remembered his vow to never let anything bad happen to her again. He knew he had crossed the line and let himself be personally affected by Gracie. He nicknamed her Gracie. He wasn't sure why, it just flowed freely from his mouth, and it seemed to fit that beautiful child perfectly. Little Gracie had stolen a piece of Elliot's heart.

"I want to Liv, I really do, but I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Elliot hated the words coming out of his mouth. He pulled Olivia closer to him in their bed and continued, "her case is closed, we got the guy. Besides, remember when we had to leave her with child services? Remember the screaming, the struggle to unwrap her body from mine so I could get out the door? I miss her, Liv, I do, but I don't want to cause her anymore emotional damage than we have to."

"El, she's all alone there, she doesn't have anybody. She needs us El. Please," Olivia stared at Elliot with the best sad puppy eyes she had. She wasn't above begging if that's what it took.

"Do you think it's ok Liv?" Elliot didn't even know why he was asking, the rules had never really stopped him from doing what he felt he needed to before. "I mean..."

Olivia interrupted as Elliot struggled to express himself, "El, she needs us."

"The rules?" Elliot asked.

Olivia knew the dangers of getting too personally involved in a case. She had weighed them carefully in their current situation. "I need to know I am allowed to be human El, I need to be able to _feel_ human. Grace has no family, she has no one in this world, she has nothing. I don't see what it would hurt if she knew she had us... if she knew she had our love El. We can give her what she has never experienced before in her life."

Elliot couldn't see any flaws in Olivia's reasoning. He smiled at her, "Well, in that case, I think it's a good idea," he replied. "First thing in the morning?"

"Unless you think they'll let us in right now," Olivia smiled back, rolling onto Elliot's chest hugging him.

Elliot squeezed Olivia tight. He lifted his lips to her forehead planting a kiss on it and rubbed her back until she fell asleep.

* * *

Elliot and Olivia arrived at the house where Grace was staying shortly after 6:00am. They knew Grace would still be sleeping, but that somebody should be up getting the older kids ready for the school bus. They couldn't wait any longer to see Grace, it had already been too long so they decided to arrive early and watch her sleep.

A short, blond haired lady answered the door in her bathrobe. As soon as she opened the door they heard crying. They both knew it was Grace.

Elliot's heart sunk in his chest, "I'm Detective Stabler, this is Detective Benson," he introduced them showing his badge.

"Oh, right!" The petite lady replied, "Grace," she added matter-of-factly, knowing which child they were there about. "I'm Jill, please come in."

As Jill was taking them back to the bedroom Grace was in, she explained to the detectives that Grace was having a hard time adjusting. She had been crying constantly, refusing to eat or play or do much of anything. When they walked in the room they saw Grace hunched over, in the same position they had found her in the closet, only this time she was sitting in the corner wedged between the end of a bed and the wall.

"I have 11 children here Detective, I'm doing the best I can," Jill was obviously exhausted. "I have to finish getting 5 of them ready for school. Please excuse me," Jill said, leaving them with Grace.

Elliot walked over to Grace and kneeled down to her level. Olivia kneeled down beside him.

"Gracie," Elliot whispered, holding a hand out towards the girl.

Grace slowed her crying as she looked up at Elliot. She took her hand out of her mouth, dripping with drool from crying so hard, and walked into Elliot's arms. Elliot wrapped his arms around Grace as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He picked her up and wiped the tears off of her face. He hugged Grace, and as he did he felt her stiff body start to relax a little bit. He sat down next to Olivia on one of the beds that was in the room. He cradled Grace who reached her hand out and grabbed onto his T-shirt, making sure he wasn't going to leave her. With a few final whole body shudders left over from her intense crying she relaxed fully into Elliot's warm embrace. As he looked down at her, she started to close her eyes.

"Liv," the tears in his eyes, threatened to overflow. Last night he was the stronger one, trying to follow protocol but sitting there holding Grace in his arms, feeling her body relax into his, knowing she felt safe with him had changed that. "We can't leave her here."

Olivia gazed into his deep blue eyes as a smile swept across her face, "I agree," she whispered, not wanting to startle Grace, "what's the plan?"

They both knew the law, and knew how to side-step it. They explained to Jill that they needed to take Grace for a little while for some official police business. She didn't object. Cragen would probably be pissed but they were confident they could calm him down if he knew the full story.

After they got Grace back to their apartment they threw her snot covered clothes in the washing machine while they gave her a bath. They both felt so blessed to be able to care for the hurting child that each of them had fallen in love with. Olivia had always wanted children, that was no secret, and Elliot missed his kids being that age where he took care of them. After Grace's bath, while her clothes finished drying, they put one of Olivia's T-shirts on her. It swallowed her up. Then, they laid her down in their bed between them and let her sleep. Olivia rubbed her back while Elliot held her hand. They watched her sleep as they planned their next move, talking to child services.


	3. Chapter 3

Elliot snuck off to children's services while Gracie was still sound asleep on the bed next to Olivia. They thought it was unnecessary for both of them to go and drag Grace along with them. Olivia didn't feel comfortable going because of her previous failed adoption attempt. She thought Elliot would have better luck.

After Grace woke up, Olivia took the youngster shopping. She knew she was jumping the gun a little bit but Grace didn't have any clothes, any toys, she didn't have anything. She had probably _never_ had anything and just the thought of that made tears well up in Olivia's eyes.

Olivia picked out some new outfits for Grace, along with a fuzzy, green fleece blanket, a car seat so they could return Jill's, some books, a pink rubber ducky for the tub, and a few other essentials. She also let Grace pick out a few toys. Grace wasn't like the other children in the toy department, running around screaming and crying if they didn't get what they demanded. It became even clearer to Olivia how troubled Grace's short childhood had been as she tried to persuade her to pick out a toy she liked.

After they left the store, Olivia decided to take Grace to _Mrs. Fields_ to get her a cookie. It was getting close to lunch time but Olivia couldn't help but spoil Grace and what kid doesn't love a warm, soft chocolate chip cookie? After that they headed back to the apartment to wait for Elliot.

Just as Olivia was sitting Grace down to eat some chicken nuggets, tater tots, and green beans, Elliot walked in the door. Olivia tried to read his face but he wasn't letting onto anything. Terrified of what news Elliot had she immediately started in on another subject. She wanted to put off any bad news for as long as possible. Her nervousness was obvious as she was speaking faster than Elliot had ever heard her talk before.

"El, please don't be mad. I took Grace shopping, she needed some clothes and some other stuff, and we got a cookies at _Mrs. Fields_ and I know I was jumping the gun a little bit because..."

Elliot put his finger over Olivia's lips and looked into her eyes, still not letting on to what children's services had decided.

"El?" Olivia's nerves were getting the best of her. She wasn't sure if she could take the rejection again. She knew she would be a good mother and she knew Elliot would be a great father. She was sure the details would work themselves out. "EL!" Olivia was beyond impatient as Elliot just stared at her for what seemed like hours. Then a small smile crept across his face. Olivia let out a shriek of excitement as she leaned over to kiss Elliot.

"Hang on Babe," Elliot said, trying to calm her down. "It's not permanent. We have temporary custody of Gracie while they try to work things out. They are still trying to figure out where she came from and who her mother is. They have a lot of details to work out Liv. She could have been kidnapped for all we know. But until they get some answers she is under our care," Elliot smiled as he told his beautiful wife the news he knew she wanted to hear.

"And I am not mad at all that you went shopping," Elliot held up a bag that Olivia hadn't even noticed he had until then. "I did too," he winked at her. He pulled out a light brown teddy bear with a pink bow on its head. "I got this for Gracie, I figured if I put some of my cologne on it, it would smell like me and maybe remind her of me when I can't be here. Maybe she won't panic as much when I leave her then."

"Aww! That's a good idea El!"

"Well, I would love to take credit for it but a friend at child services suggested it," Elliot smiled as he leaned in to kiss Olivia again. Next thing he knew something was tugging at his pants. He looked down to see Grace holding onto his pant leg as well as ranch dressing in the form of a hand print right below his knee on his jeans.

Elliot picked Grace up, "Are you done eating Sweetheart?" Elliot rubbed her tummy. He carried her over to the sink and washed the ranch dip off her hands off with a washcloth. Elliot just stared at her for a moment. He was overwhelmed with the love he felt. He wanted nothing more than to give Gracie everything she would ever need, everything she deserved and more.

Olivia pulled out one of the books she had just bought for Grace. They sat down on the couch, Olivia next to Elliot and Grace in Elliot's lap, reclined slightly, and completely relaxed in his arms. By the time Elliot had finished reading the book, Gracie was once again sound asleep. Elliot laid her on the couch and Olivia covered her with her new fleece blanket. Then Elliot's phone rang.

"Stabler."

"Detective Stabler, children's services gave me your number. This is Dr. Hampton. I saw Grace when she came into the ER."

"Yah, Doc, I remember. What's up?"

"I have her test results back..."


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you for the wonderful reviews Guys! It really keeps me going!_

* * *

"_I have her test results back..."_ Elliot's mind raced as the doctors words echoed in his ears. He knew by the doctor's tone of voice that whatever the results were, they weren't good. He listened carefully to everything Dr. Hampton told him before hanging up the phone. He could feel Olivia staring at him. He knew he had to tell her. He felt like throwing up.

"She'll never be able to have kids Liv." Elliot said quietly. He knew that would be hard for Olivia to handle. She had wanted a child so badly but it never seemed to work out for her. He knew it was one of her biggest struggles and now Gracie would have to face a similar struggle.

"There's too much damage," Elliot continued, frowning. The man who had stolen part of Gracie's childhood had also stolen a piece of her future. It took all of Elliot's will-power not to go right down to the prison and kill him right on the spot.

Olivia's eyes filled with tears. Her body started shaking but no sound came out. Her sobs had not yet caught up with her tears. Elliot caught her just before she collapsed to the floor. He took her back to the bedroom and sat her on their bed. He didn't want to wake Gracie up. He leaned down and put his hands on top of her shoulders.

"Breathe Liv," he whispered, gently massaging her shoulders, "Breathe for me."

Finally a loud sob came out of Olivia's mouth. Elliot sat down next to her on the bed and gently pulled her head down on his shoulder as he held her tightly while her tears flowed freely.

"It's gonna be ok," Elliot kissed her on top of her head. "Everything is going to be ok," his words trailed off as he got lost in his own thoughts.

Olivia managed to pull herself together with a few final full body jerks. She had feared something like this happening, knowing the damage a grown man could do to a small child, but hearing Elliot say it out loud suddenly made it all too real. Elliot gazed into Olivia's eyes as he wiped the tears from her face.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

"This is so unfair El," Olivia could barely finish her sentence.

"I know," Elliot rubbed her back then pulled her close to him. "I know. It's ok. Everything is going to be ok, Liv," he paused for a moment, "Somehow."

"Why?" Olivia was pleading, maybe speaking to God rather than to Elliot. "Why Grace? Hasn't she been through enough already?"

Elliot's phone rang again. "Ugh!" he let out a frustrated grunt, not wanting anymore bad news or any interruptions. "It's Cragen," he said to Olivia as he flipped the phone open and put it on speaker. "Stabler."

"Elliot, I need you and Olivia at the station, now. Bring the girl." Cragen hung up the phone before Elliot had a chance to argue with him.

"Are you going to be ok?" Elliot asked before addressing Cragen's need.

"Mhmm," Olivia nodded. She really didn't feel ok but she knew things could have been worse.

"Well, I guess I better go hook up that new car seat you got." Elliot smiled, studying Olivia's eyes once more. He gave her a reassuring pat on the back before he turned and walked out of their room.

* * *

"Cabot's case is falling apart. We need Grace's help," Cragen was firm.

"Captain?" Olivia objected.

"We don't have any other options Detective," Cragen cut her off.

"She's not even swearable as a witness," Elliot asked more as a question than a statement.

"Because of her age, we can record her statement with a video camera and present that to the court as evidence. She'll never have to enter the courtroom," Cabot tried to reassure everyone. "George Huang will do the interview."

Elliot pursed his lips as he nodded his head in approval. He wasn't happy with the situation, but he knew it was necessary in order to get justice for Gracie and prevent any other children from being victimized. Olivia was a little more reluctant. The entire day had been an emotional rollercoaster and she wasn't sure how much more she could take.

"Do we have to do this now?" Olivia asked, hoping they could put it off.

"We can do it first thing in the morning," Cragen said.

"There's one more thing," Cabot added.

Elliot was leaning on Cragen's desk. He raised his eyebrows, looking up at the ADA.

Cabot hesitated, knowing her next request was sure to upset both Stabler and Benson, "I need her to pick him out of a line up."

"Uh-uh. No," Elliot immediately rose to his feet and began shaking his head.

"It's the only way," Cabot said firmly.

"Elliot," Cragen interrupted Cabot, "we've been after this guy for months. I'm not going to let him slip through our grasp now. And I know you don't want him back out on the street either."

"What if she picks him out of a photo line-up?" Olivia asked, defeated. She knew they weren't going to win this argument but was hoping they would at least be able to compromise. She didn't want Grace to ever have to see that piece of scum again. A photo was bad enough but it was better than her actually having to see him in person.

Cabot thought for a moment, then nodded her head, "We can do that."

"Elliot?" Cragen asked.

Elliot inhaled deeply, then lowered his head into his hands with a long sigh. He rubbed his face as he carefully weighed everything that was happening "Yah, ok," he agreed, reluctantly as he got up to leave. "See you guys in the morning."

"I need the ID today Detective. That's all I have to hold him on, without it I have to let him walk. Munch is ready to do the line up, you and Benson can be there if you want to as long as you don't say anything."

"This isn't our first line-up Alex," Elliot said.

"I know, I just"

"Want everything to go by the book. I know." Elliot finished Cabot's sentence. "Let's get this over with."

Elliot took Olivia's hand as they walked down to the playroom where Grace was playing with Munch.


	5. Chapter 5

Munch showed Grace six different photos, one at a time, hoping she could pick out the man who held her captive in the closet. He didn't want to put her through that any more than the rest of them did but he knew it was necessary in order to put her captor away. Grace sat on Elliot's lap chewing on one hand, the other hand wrapped around two of Olivia's fingers while Detective Munch showed her the photos. She was silent the entire time. When Munch held up the fourth photograph Elliot felt his leg get very warm and wet. Grace hadn't said a word but had clearly identified her attacker when she wet her pants. Elliot held her tight in his arms, hoping she would feel safe with him. He knew he couldn't say anything to her without the defense team arguing he had contaminated the witness.

Munch questioned Grace as best as he could but never got a word out of her. Her only identification of the perp was Elliot's wet pant leg, and they all knew that wouldn't hold up in court very well. Cragen sent Elliot, Olivia and Grace home. Everyone was worried about the case but there wasn't much more they could do about it at that point.

* * *

While Elliot was cooking dinner Olivia got out the watercolors and painted with Grace. She was really surprised at how well Grace could paint. She seemed to have a natural talent even though her pictures were quite dark. They definitely reflected some of the horrors she had been through. Olivia realized Grace probably didn't know of any happy things to paint, no rainbows or flowers or puppies or other things little girls often painted. Grace used a lot of black instead of bright colors and depicted herself alone and even crying sometimes. Olivia could identify many monsters in her pictures as well. Her paintings were sad but seemed to be a window into her mind. Olivia hoped with time Grace would begin painting happier, more colorful pictures.

"Liv, Gracie, time to wash up," Elliot called from the kitchen.

Olivia got both of them washed up and they all sat down to dinner together.

"Smells delicious El!" He'd made meatloaf, cheesy potatoes and broccoli. They had contemplated taking Gracie to McDonalds for dinner but since she was so malnourished they wanted to make she had a well balanced meal. They knew they could always spoil her with ice cream after dinner.

When they were finished eating, Olivia cleaned up the kitchen while Elliot entertained Gracie. Their marriage was the perfect partnership, they took turns cooking and cleaning. They both worked hard so they could enjoy playing hard together. When Olivia was done cleaning the kitchen she went to the living room to find Elliot laid out on the couch with Grace on top of him. They were both sound asleep. Olivia covered them up with Elliot's New York Jets blanket, waking Elliot in the process.

"Sorry El," Olivia whispered. "Go back to sleep," she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.

"I'm up," Elliot said, groggy. "I'm up."

Olivia sat down on the couch and Elliot laid his head in her lap with Gracie still sleeping on his chest. Olivia ran her fingers through her husband's hair as they watched TV and talked about everything that was happening. They were pleased with the way things were working out. Maureen and Kathleen were very excited to babysit Gracie while Elliot and Olivia were at work. They decided to have Grace sleep in the room Lizzie slept in when she stayed over, they would get another bed if they needed to. Lizzie's bedroom was right next to theirs putting Grace close enough to them that they could get to her in a hurry if they needed to. Their two main concerns were getting justice for Grace and the uncertainty of where Grace had come from, whether or not she had a family, and if they were eligible to adopt her.

They laid on the couch together enjoying being a family until it was time to go to bed. Grace was still sound asleep when Elliot carried her back to Lizzie's room. He and Olivia changed her into her pajamas and tucked her into bed and then headed next door to their own room.

They weren't asleep very long before Grace started screaming. They were at her bed side within seconds.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Olivia asked as she picked her up.

"Liv," Elliot nodded his head towards the wet spot on the bed.

"I hope she doesn't have a bladder infection," Olivia said as she was patting Grace on the back trying to soothe her. "This is the second time today."

"Bedwetting is a sign of sexual abuse in children. It could be that," Elliot replied. "I'll see if I can get her a doctor's appointment tomorrow."

By the time they changed Grace and cleaned the bed up her crying had eased. Elliot rocked her until her trembles went away and sleep took over her body again. He tucked her into her bed and kissed her on the forehead before returning to his room with Olivia.

Olivia woke with a start when she felt something brushing up against her arm. She opened her eyes and saw Grace standing there staring at her.

"Good morning Honey!" Olivia picked her up and set her on the bed between her and Elliot. Grace reached over and put her hand on Elliot's cheek, waking him up.

"Good morning Gracie," Elliot said as he stretched. He leaned over and kissed Grace on the forehead.  
"Good morning Babe," he said to Olivia right before their lips met for a good morning kiss. "Are my girls ready to start the day?"

They ate breakfast, bathed Gracie, and showered. They were just getting ready to head down to the precinct when Elliot's phone rang.

"Stabler."

"Elliot, I have good news, how fast can you guys get down here?"

"We're on our way Captain."

* * *

_A/N: I left it on a good note. I'm going to be out of town this weekend so I won't have a chance to write until next week._


	6. Chapter 6

Cragen shut the door to his office behind Elliot and Olivia. "TARU said the computer was password protected. It was set up to upload a virus that completely wipes the hard drive if you type in the wrong password. They thought all the files were gone but then they somehow got them back."

"So we have the child pornography," Olivia asked.

"Yes, that alone should be enough to put our perp away for life. Grace is off the hook, we don't have to put her through anything else," Cragen answered.

Elliot let out a sigh of relief, "That is good news."

"How is she?" Cragen asked, changing the subject.

"She's hanging in there," Elliot answered. "She has night terrors, wets the bed. Liv painted with her last night and," Elliot shook his head at a loss for words. "She's been to hell and back Captain."

Cragen hung his head, "It's going to take time. I have no doubt she's in good hands. Go ahead and take her home."

"Captain, Maureen and Kathleen can babysit while we work."

"Go home," Cragen cut him off. "She needs you more than I do. I'll call you guys if we get a case. That's an order," he said gently as he opened the door of his office to usher out his two detectives.

"Are you drawing pictures with John?" Olivia asked as she leaned down to kiss Grace on the top of her head before putting her jacket on her.

"Thanks John," Elliot said as they shook hands.

"My pleasure," John replied. "What are you guys up to today?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe a walk in Central Park, maybe just relax at home. My kids are coming over later so we'll have a full house," Elliot smiled, happy at the thought of seeing his kids and having the whole family together soon.

"Enjoy!" Munch said as Elliot picked Grace up and headed for the door with Olivia.

"We will," Elliot replied confidently.

* * *

Before they returned to their house, Elliot and Olivia decided to take Grace to Central Park to ride the carousel. Grace picked out the horse she wanted to ride on. Olivia stayed with her throughout the ride while Elliot snapped some pictures. After the carousel ride they bought Grace a balloon from the balloon vendor near the carousel then they headed home.

Around 4:00 that afternoon Maureen, Kathleen, Lizzie, Dickie, and Eli showed up. They ordered a couple pizzas for dinner. After dinner, Olivia sat down to paint with Grace, Eli, Maureen and Kathleen while Elliot played video games with Lizzie and Dickie. At 7:30 they all gathered in the living room to watch a movie and get settled down before bed. Eli and Dickie cuddled up with Olivia. Gracie sat on Elliot's lap. Lizzie also cuddled up with Elliot. Maureen and Kathleen sat in the two recliners.

By 8:30 Grace, Lizzie and Eli were sound asleep in the living room cuddled up with Elliot and Olivia on the couch. Olivia carried Eli back to his room and tucked him in, while Elliot took Grace back and tucked her into bed. The movie ended shortly after 9:00. Elliot carried Lizzie into her room and tucked her into bed, then sent Dickie to bed. They trusted Maureen and Kathleen to get themselves to bed.

Elliot and Olivia were lying in bed in their room talking when Grace started screaming. She hadn't been asleep very long. She had awakened Lizzie with her screams. Elliot calmed Grace and rocked her back to sleep while Olivia rubbed Lizzie's back. After they got the girls back to sleep they returned to their room. Olivia cuddled up with Elliot and drew random patterns on his bare chest with her finger while he rubbed her back until they fell asleep.

Grace woke up two more times that night before 7:00am came around and she made her way into Elliot and Olivia's bedroom. She crawled into their bed and laid down between them, resting her head on Elliot's stomach and her feet on Olivia's stomach. Both of them were tired from being up off and on all night so neither of them woke up. Elliot laid his hand on Grace's stomach as a reflex. Grace started playing with his fingers while talking to herself. The pulling and tugging on his fingers woke Elliot. He laid in bed for a minute watching Gracie, pleased that she was so happy and relaxed and seemed to be settling in. He started laughing to himself at Gracie who was entertaining herself. Once Grace knew she was being watched she stopped playing with his hand and stared at him. Elliot pulled her up and held her over his body as he whispered good morning to her. He eased out of bed, not wanting to wake Olivia and took Grace out to the living room.

Dickie was already up watching TV.

"Don't you ever sleep Son?" Elliot teased, playfully punching him in the arm.

"I just woke up!" Dickie laughed back at his father.

Elliot sat Gracie down on the couch next to Dickie then kissed each of them on the top of their heads.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Elliot asked Dickie.

After thinking for a minute Dickie decided on scrambled eggs.

"What about some pancakes and sausage to go with them?" Elliot asked.

"Ok."

Elliot left the two youngsters watching TV on the couch while he prepared breakfast. As the smells of breakfast drifted through the house the other children started to wake up. Maureen and Eli joined Dickie and Grace in the living room. Lizzie made her way into the kitchen to help her Dad finish up breakfast. Kathleen and Olivia were still in bed.

As Elliot was putting breakfast on the table his phone rang. He considered ignoring it, but decided he better answer it.

"Stabler."

"Elliot, I know it's early on a Saturday morning, but I need you. Can you come in?"

"Hmm," Elliot hesitated. "We have a house full of kids Captain and Olivia is still asleep. Is it urgent?"

"I'll come to you."

"Ok, we're getting ready to sit down to breakfast if you're hungry."

"I'm good, thanks. See you soon."

Elliot called the kids to the table. He had Maureen help Eli and Gracie while he went to wake up the rest of the household. He went to Kathleen's room first. He pushed her hair out of her face and kissed her on the forehead. "It's time to wake up Sweetie," he whispered to her. She started moving around and opened her eyes.

"Good morning Sunshine," Elliot smiled at her.

"Good morning Daddy," Kathleen smiled back at him as she sat up in her bed.

Elliot headed down to his bedroom. He sat down next to Olivia on their bed. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips. He rested his hand on her stomach. "Liv," he said softly. Olivia started to stir and mumbled something he couldn't understand. Then she pulled the covers up over her head.

Elliot pulled the blankets back. "Liv, Honey, it's time to get up. I know you're sleepy but Cragen is on his way over."

"What does he want?" she mumbled, still sounding tired.

"I don't know Babe, you better get dressed though," Elliot said as he got up to leave the bedroom.

"El," Olivia called after him.

He turned and looked at her.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," Elliot said as he returned and kissed her once more.

* * *

"What's up Captain?" Olivia asked as she answered the door. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes," Cragen replied, hanging his coat on the coat rack.

"Come in, have a seat," Elliot said motioning to their living room. "Sorry about the mess."

"6 kids will do that," Cragen responded.

"Do you want some breakfast?" Olivia offered.

"No, thank you. I just came to tell you we found Grace's Mom."

Elliot's heart sank. Olivia's knees gave out beneath her forcing her to grab onto Elliot for support.

"No," Elliot said, shaking his head. He knew he should be happy at the possibility of a mother and child being reunited but he and Olivia had grown so attached to Grace he did not want to let her go.

"Relax," Cragen said holding his hand up. "She's in the morgue. Remember the Jane Doe we dug out of our perp's back yard? Her mitochondrial DNA is a match to Grace."

"What?" Olivia asked, confused. "What about the four children we dug up?"

"She is the mother to all of them," Cragen replied. "These two must have been having children so they could molest them. Snatching them off the street was too risky I guess. That's how they flew under the radar for so long. If they hadn't started selling child pornography on the internet he'd probably still be out there."

"Why kill Mom?" Elliot asked.

"He didn't," Cragen answered. "Werner said she died during childbirth approximately 30 months ago. Grace must have been her last child. No hospital records, I'm thinking they were all home births."

"She died giving birth to Grace?" Olivia asked, the heartbreak clear in her voice. "Grace never had a mother."

Elliot wrapped his arm around Olivia's shoulders and pulled her tight to him. "She does now," he whispered in her ear before planting a kiss on her cheek.

"30 months, so she's about two and a half years old," Elliot concluded after doing the math in his head.

"Mhmm," Cragen nodded his head. "I sent the report over to child services. She has no known living relatives. It shouldn't take long for them to clear her for adoption if you two are interested in making this a permanent situation."

"Wow," Olivia was speechless.

Elliot shook Cragen's hand and thanked him as he got up to leave.

"Do I even have to ask you what you want to do?" Elliot asked after Cragen left.

Olivia shook her head no, "Let's talk to child services."

"First thing Monday morning," Elliot smiled. "Right now we have a kitchen full of children who need us and a breakfast that's getting cold."

"If there's any breakfast left," Olivia chimed in.

* * *

Monday morning brought quiet to Elliot and Olivia's house. Cragen had given them the morning off to talk to child services. Kathleen had stayed to babysit Grace for the day. Maureen had taken the twins and Eli back to their mother's house the night before.

After eating breakfast Elliot and Olivia headed off to their appointment with children's services, both of them had butterflies in their stomachs. After reviewing Grace's file Elliot and Olivia were granted permanent custody of Grace.

Elliot and Olivia went straight from their meeting with child services to court to sit in on the trial of Grace's abuser. With the amount of evidence TARU had uncovered and the bodies of the four children that were found in the backyard the trial didn't last very long. Grace's abuser was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Life settled back into a normal pattern after that. Elliot's children loved Grace and Grace loved them. For the first time in her life she started to form healthy relationships. Elliot and Olivia introduced her to the many joys of life. They took her in as if she was their own and gave her all the love and affection she deserved, and more.

**The End**


End file.
